A BYU fans' guide to the NFC and AFC Championships

For any BYU football fan, life’s been a little dry over the past month.

With the Cougars' dominant bowl win over Colorado happening a month ago and Ohio State being crowned the national champion earlier this week, BYU fans will be without college football for seven months.

Up until recently, BYU fans could root for household names like Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua and Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy. But with both recently bounced out of the playoffs, BYU fans might be wondering what they can care about, especially since there won’t be any Doritos commercials until the Super Bowl.

Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to wait until the Super Bowl to watch meaningful football.

Though life without BYU football is never fun, here are four different ways you can watch the upcoming NFL championship games.

The Homer:

Photo by AP Photo/ Ross D. Franklin

Yes, Puka’s incredible catches late against the Eagles didn’t end up resulting in a win for the Rams, but there are still hometown heroes to root for.

Look no further than these three guys: Chiefs starting left tackle Kingsley Suamataia, Commanders cornerback Michael Davis and Andy Reid, the well-known head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

There are no other BYU alumni in the playoffs, so you’ll want to root for the Commanders or the Chiefs to make the Super Bowl.

If what you want is prominent success that reflects well on BYU, rooting for the Chiefs is your best bet. If Reid makes history as the first coach to successfully lead his team to three consecutive Super Bowl wins, it will reflect well on BYU due to him being a former player for the school.

With Suamataia also having a more elevated role for his team than Davis, the Chiefs will be the team you want to root for if your concern is BYU success.

To take it a step further, the only team to have a Utah Utes player on its roster is the Philadelphia Eagles, who have former Utes wide receiver Britain Covey on the roster. While Covey has been ruled out of the championship game with a neck injury, you’ll have extra incentive to root for the Commanders to win against the Eagles this Sunday.

The Promising Underdog:

Photo by AP Photo/ Nick Wass

With BYU predicted to finish 13th in the Big 12 in the media’s preseason poll, BYU fans have had plenty of fun rooting for a Cinderella team all year—especially since that Cinderella team surprised everyone by staying undefeated until its loss against Kansas late in the season.

So, if you’re looking to root for another underdog this year, you have two teams to choose from: the Commanders and the Bills.

The Bills have yet to beat Kansas City in the playoffs over Josh Allen’s career, coming up just short in three postseason matchups. But, to the delight of Bills fans, Allen is playing at an MVP level and was one of the few teams to beat the Chiefs in the regular season this year.

The Bills are also the only remaining playoff team to never have won a Super Bowl, so a win for Allen and the Bills would make for a great story.

Meanwhile, the Commanders are the biggest surprise of the NFL season.

After finishing with a 4-13 record and firing Ron Rivera, no one had any expectations that Washington would win in a rebuilding year. However, Washington picked up a lot of solid free agents and had a great rookie class led by quarterback Jayden Daniels and cornerback Mike Sainristil.

The hiring of head coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has elevated the Commanders to greater heights than anyone could have expected.

After beating the No. 1 seeded Lions last week, Washington has proven that it is not just an underdog but a legitimate contender that can beat anyone.

If you need any extra motivation to root for this team, just know that Quinn was the head coach of the Falcons when it infamously blew a 28-3 lead over the Patriots in the Super Bowl. So, if you want to root for a redemption story, Washington is your team.

The Star Watcher:

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While the MVP hasn’t been named yet, two finalists for the award are still in the playoffs: Allen and Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. While neither may win the award, due to Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, both have had fantastic years.

Allen is particularly interesting to watch this year because he is leading his team without a true No. 1 wide receiver. When given more responsibility, Allen has only gotten better, going for 40 total touchdowns and only seven turnovers.

On top of that, Allen’s rushing ability makes him very exciting to watch ... just look at this play where he managed to catch his own TD pass.

Meanwhile, Barkley’s success is a statement that running backs are still essential to a team's success.

After his previous team, the New York Giants, decided to let him walk in free agency (as documented on the HBO show Hard Knocks), Barkley has thrived since joining his former team’s divisional rival.

While the MVP award notoriously goes to quarterbacks, Barkley is very deserving of being one of the final candidates for the award as he has been the best player for the Eagles all year.

Still, Barkley has an extremely high chance of winning Offensive Player of the Year after his 2,000-plus rushing season, which almost broke the all-time record set by Eric Dickerson.

With him having two 60-yard rushing touchdowns in his 200-plus yard rushing performance in the Eagles' win against the Rams, expect lots of elite running and incredible plays by the offensive line if you choose to root for Barkley.

There are two other players to keep note of: Washington QB Jayden Daniels and Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes.

Jayden Daniels may not be in the running for MVP, but he is likely going to win Rookie of the Year. Arguably, Daniels could have the greatest rookie season ever if he makes and wins the Super Bowl.

Daniels is a wildly entertaining player due to his multidimensional play of passing and running, his ability to lead his team to clutch victories, and his laser-focused attitude on the field. Daniels is a great player to root for this postseason.

Lastly, there is Mahomes. Though he has already won two MVPs and three Super Bowls, this year he hasn’t exactly been an MVP.

Though his play this year isn’t MVP level, his career is already Hall-of-Fame worthy. If he becomes the first QB to three-peat, Mahomes will be considered one of the greatest players of all time. So, if you want history to be made and love GOAT debates, Patrick Mahomes is for you.

Lastly, we have...

The Hater’s Guide:

Photo by Jamie Squire/GettyImages

Maybe instead of wanting to root for a team, you want to root against a team. Well, here are some teams to root against:

The Chiefs: After some blatant penalty calls went in favor of the Chiefs in its win over the Houston Texans, no time is like the present to hate on the Chiefs. If you also dislike all the attention the Chiefs are getting because of Taylor Swift or were a big Tom Brady fan, rooting against the Chiefs is for you.

The Chiefs & Eagles: Not only have these two teams won Super Bowls in the last decade, but both played each other in the Super Bowl two years ago. So, if you want a more interesting storyline, root against both of these teams this Sunday.

The Patriots: If you still have a grudge against the Patriots dynasty, when Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were leading the team, rooting for the Chiefs is your best bet. While Brady will always have a Super Bowl win over Patrick Mahomes, Mahomes could still compete against Brady’s legacy if he can three-peat and take a Super Bowl MVP.

The Cowboys: With two NFC East rivals making it to the NFC Championship, I’m afraid life is already pretty miserable for Cowboy fans. But if you enjoy seeing “America’s Team” miserable, you’re already living your best life.

So, while college football may be a long way off, don’t worry. The NFL has plenty of interesting stories to follow for any BYU fan looking to quickly catch up.